Ivan Gavin Named COO of Universal Republic, Island Def Jam

Ivan Gavin has been appointed to the newly-created position of Chief Operating Officer of Universal Republic & Island Def Jam it was announced today by Barry Weiss, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the company, and to whom Mr. Gavin reports

Mr. Gavin most recently served as Chief Operating Officer of RCA/Jive Label Group, a position he had held since 2007.

In his new position, Mr. Gavin will oversee day-to-day operations across the label group, with responsibility for such departments as finance, business affairs, shared services and sales. He will be based in New York and work closely with Mr. Weiss.

"Having worked with Ivan for many years at Jive and then Jive/RCA, I'm confident that his unique combination of record label, financial and operational experience have made him ideally suited to help me address the unique challenges and the array of opportunities we face in the music business today," Mr. Weiss said in a statement. "We're delighted to have an executive of his caliber join us."

"It's a privilege to not only be working alongside Barry again, but to be joining a label group with such a deep commitment to talent and innovation," Mr. Gavin also said. "As a result, our labels are uniquely poised to drive change in our business with all the key ingredients, from a dynamic roster of talent and a second-to-none team of executives, to a clear strategy for growth."

Before working as COO of RCA/Jive Label Group Formerly, Nr, Gavin served as Chief Operating Officer of EMI Music North America from 2002 - 2006 an dwhere he managed operations for EMI's U.S.-based recorded music company. Prior to joining EMI, Mr. Gavin spent 12 years at Zomba as Executive Vice President of Commercial Operations, overseeing operations for Zomba divisions including record labels Jive, Silvertone and Verity, Provident Music Group, music publishing, equipment rental, recording studios and production music. Mr. Gavin began his career in music at Chrysalis Records, where he served as the label's Chief Financial Officer.